Josh Wilding wrote:Oh, and that mysterious Marvel movie has dated for 2018? If all goes to plan with Fantastic Four in August, that's being reserved for a crossover with the X-Men. This is all strictly a rumour for now, but it gives us plenty to think about! What do you guys think about this news? As always, sound off below...

High Anxiety on Hollywood Mega-Movies: How 'Gambit' Lost Its DirectorRupert Wyatt, his star rising after a successful 'Planet of the Apes' reboot, has fallen out of films at almost every studio (an 'Apes' sequel at Fox, 'The Equalizer' at Sony) as the pressure of working in today's Hollywood takes its toll: "Studios don't necessarily want an auteur who's going to try and reinvent the franchise."

UMBERTO GONZALEZ wrote:On this week’s Heroic Scoop Drop, I got word from my sources on what the next X-Men film will be post X-Men: Apocalypse – a redo of the Dark Phoenix saga. Due to the events of X-Men: Days of Future Past, the timeline of the movies have been rebooted, meaning that the original X-Men trilogy is no longer set in stone and therefore the filmmakers could retell stories in a different way than it originally went down.

TIM STACK wrote:The fate of a lot of mutants is up in the air in X-Men: Apocalypse, the subject of this week’s EW cover story, and – spoiler alert – not everyone survives the sixth installment in the franchise.

But the future that everyone seems to wonder most about is of Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique. The actress’ three-picture deal expires with X-Men: Apocalypse (along with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, and Nicholas Hoult), and Lawrence is the one who vacillates the most between officially agreeing to do another film.

“Fassbender and McAvoy and I were all talking,” she says, “Like, ‘Will you come back?’ ‘I dunno.’ ‘I’ll come back, if you come back.’ Fox should be terrified because the deal we made was like if one of us doesn’t come back, none of us are.”

The actress is quite honest about how much she dislikes the blue body paint required for Mystique (“You go in and you realize you’re rock bottom and like this sucks and it could not suck more”) and in the years since 2011’s X-Men: First Class, she’s grown into arguably the most in-demand young actress in Hollywood.

“I would love to come back,” says Lawrence. “I love the fans and I love the character. But then you realize how important your year is, like how important three months out of your year is. I don’t know. I shouldn’t be that honest.”

This one might take a studio executive with superpowers to figure out.

Katharine Trendacosta wrote:In an interview with American Way Magazine (which is, I swear to god, the magazine for American Airlines), Munn goes through her entire acting career, including her brush with Deadpool. The writer doesn’t include Munn’s actual words, but we get the gist of things:

Munn was also offered a role in a very different X-Men spin-off — that of Ryan Reynolds’ girlfriend in Deadpool, which had the biggest February opening ever for an R-rated movie. Its box-office haul is inconsequential. Munn says she didn’t want to be the girlfriend. Not again. She wanted to fight. To make noise. To kick butt.

Graeme McMillan wrote:Nine movies and 16 years into its run, Fox's X-Men movie franchise has built up an impressively complicated history that includes two versions each of multiple recurring characters, a time-travel do-over that may or may not have rewritten parts of what happened in earlier movies, and a timeline that means that its leading characters are somewhere in the region of 70 years old or so. With X-Men: Apocalypse leaving many critics cold, is it time to reboot the entire universe?

At this point in their existence, the X-Men movies have become a confusing mess for anyone trying to step into the series cold: the first three movies took place in the present day, then everything else takes place in the past, except for The Wolverine and Deadpool, the former of which ends with a cliffhanger that kind of leads into X-Men: Days of Future Past, except not really, and the latter seems to maybe exist in an entirely different reality. And how does the Cyclops in X-Men Origins: Wolverine connect to the one in X-Men: Apocalypse or the original trilogy? Perhaps it's better to not think about things too much for fear of causing a headache.

There is some level of cohesion in individual trilogies — X-Men, X2: X-Men United and X-Men: The Last Stand work together, as do X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse — but when viewed as a whole, things get significantly more complicated and contradictory: Have the 30-something heroes in the original X-Men movie really been around since the 1980s, when they were teenagers? More to that matter, have the 30-something heroes in Apocalypse really been around since the 1960s, when they also seemed to be around 30 or so? How does the Angel in X-Men: The Last Stand co-exist with the one in X-Men: Apocalypse? What about the two Nightcrawlers?

Beyond simple continuity concerns, there are two other big reasons to consider a reboot. Firstly, the aesthetic of the movies remains curiously set from the original movie from 16 years ago — either "civilian" clothes, or costumes with colors that are muted at best, both of which feel particularly out of step with the contemporary cinematic trends as dominated by the Marvel Studios movies. A reboot offers the fastest and most straightforward way to significantly overhaul the visual aesthetic of the series and bring it closer to what audiences are used to seeing, both in terms of other superhero movies and also, notably, the X-Men comics themselves.

Secondly, a reboot would allow the series to re-center and re-focus itself, allowing it to break its bad habits and plan for the future. Let's be honest, if there's one problem that the X-Men movies have, it's that they're going to be about one of three people: Wolverine, Charles Xavier or Magneto. Sure, there'll be an external threat and some other characters as window dressing, but with only one exception to date (Deadpool, which technically isn't even an X-Men movie considering he even denies he's an X-Man in it), the movies will have at least one of those characters dominating events, and likely at least a cameo from another.

In itself, this would be fine — repetitive, sure, but it's not like Marvel doesn't have a similar Iron Man problem — but the thing is, the strength of the X-Men comic book franchise is that it's filled with fascinating and unique characters who, importantly, each get their own time in the spotlight. (Also important, and nowhere near reflected enough in the movies, is the percentage of fan-favorite women in the franchise; there's more than just Mystique, Jean Grey and Storm, producers.) A movie franchise that reflected the variety of characters on show in the comics would be a stronger franchise, undoubtedly.

That's also true in terms of narratives. It's true that the X-Men movies play around with genre somewhat — Days of Future Past is more of a sci-fi tale than, say, The Last Stand — but once upon a time, the comic books are famous for their genuinely bold diversity: traditional superheroics would be interrupted by fairy tales, trips into space to fight aliens, magical alternate realities that put everyone in Dungeons and Dragons costumes, and so on. That kind of thing is, of course, easier to do in a monthly ongoing series than a movie franchise that updates every couple of years, and yet… there's no suggestion that the current incarnation of the X-Men movie franchise would even be interested in going in that direction. A reboot would offer the chance to mix things up.

The trouble is, there's no impetus for Fox to reboot the series right now. Apocalypse looks set to be a success, if not a Captain America: Civil War-scale monolith, and spin-offs like Deadpool, The Wolverine and the in-progress New Mutants are suggesting that the property is doing just fine, thank you very much.

Arguably, the studio has missed its chance to reboot, as well; 2014's Days of Future Past re-set the series' timeline, which was the best opportunity to have its cake and eat it; as in 2009's Star Trek, that could have created a wholly blank slate for future releases. Instead, the climax re-affirmed the cast of the original movie once again.

The future of the X-Men movies, then, more than likely looks a lot like its past — only undoubtedly more confusing, as contradictions pile up and the series strains to find new ways to center stories around the same characters over and over again. The fact that a movie series based on mutants who are the next step in evolution seems so reluctant to evolve itself is, at least, as ironic as it can be frustrating.

“I recently met Danny Boyle — he and I have known of each other for many years but never met. He was prepping “Steve Jobs” at the time and I was doing this and he said, “Are you going to be doing ‘X-Men’ movies forever?” And I didn’t actually say no.

“The reality is, even though I’m very desperate to jump to something completely different, I’ve spent so many years in this universe and I love this cast and the characters so much, I just don’t see myself abandoning them forever. Perhaps as a consultant, as a producer, even as a director, I could see myself returning in the future. Just right now, once this one is done, I’d like to do something really different.”

i always assumed the 2nd X-Men trilogy was a reboot of sorts, not connected to the first trilogy. except for hugh jackman, his wolverine is sorta like the franchise's Billy Pilgrim, unstuck in time/space/universes/whatever. or maybe he's like Roland Deschain, immortal, and condemned to repeat the same crappy film trilogy over and over again.

“The first thing up, we’re shooting the Wolverine movie right now and we start shooting Deadpool 2 at the beginning of next year, then I sit down and start writing the next of the mainline X-Men movies.”

In this flick, people will get hurt or killed when s— falls on them. They will get just as hurt or killed when s— falls on them. They will get just as hurt or just as killed if they get hit with something big and heavy like, say, a car. Should anyone in our story have the misfortune to fall off a roof or out a window, they won’t bounce. They will die.

I've fallen and I can't get up!

More LOGAN Details Emerge, And They’re Not PrettyBummer City. Population: LOGAN (and Professor X).Wolverine is sick and old and not healing much anymore. He drives a limo. He also (with the help of an albino mutant named Caliban - played by Stephen Merchant) has to take care of Professor X, who is now old and unstable and seemingly senile.

Borys Kit wrote:With the summer release of X-Men: Apocalypse behind it and a Deadpool sequel hitting a speed bump, 20th Century Fox is finding its superhero franchise at another type of X: a crossroads.

Fox has had movie rights to Marvel's X-Men characters since the 1990s, well before Marvel became its own studio and Fox ostensibly launched the modern comic book movie with 2000's X-Men. But now, after some highs, lows and one reset (2011's X-Men: First Class), there are signs of wear and tear on a franchise that has grossed more than $4 billion.

Apocalypse, directed by Bryan Singer, earned $544 million worldwide, a sharp drop from the $748 million made by previous entry X-Men: Days of Future Past. What's more, stars Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Nicholas Hoult have come to the end of their three-picture contracts. If new studio chairman Stacey Snider wants them to return, they won't come cheap.

"You're gauged by the success of the franchise," says box-office analyst Paul Degarabedian. "This one didn't engender the love of previous movies. It's time to go back to the drawing board."

There are other signs of paint chipping as well. Fox's solidly performing Wolverine spinoff series winds down with Logan (March 3), which is meant to be the last of the Hugh Jackman-fronted movies. (The movie just released a trailer which insiders say was the most watched spot in the history of the X-Men franchise.) In addition, Gambit, a solo spinoff movie to star Channing Tatum, failed to start production this year as planned and in August lost its director, Doug Liman.

And in perhaps the most unexpected development, Deadpool director Tim Miller pulled out of the sequel Oct. 22 after feuding with star Ryan Reynolds. (His composer Tom Holkenborg soon followed.) Deadpool was a surprise massive hit ($782.6 million) in February, so the studio has moved quickly to fill the sequel's director chair, with John Wick's David Leitch now in negotiations. And in a sign of how much faith it has in the Reynolds-starring franchise, Fox already is planning Deadpool 3, readying a filmmaker search for a storyline that will involve another X-team, X-Force, say sources.

Elsewhere, the reset button has been pressed. Sources say the flagship series will be reconfigured, with Simon Kinberg, overseer of the franchise as producer and writer, working on a new script. Singer, who directed four X-Men movies, will not be returning, according to insiders, but the script is being written with Lawrence, Fassbender and McAvoy optimistically in mind.

And after being on hold as Tatum shot Steven Soderbergh’s Logan Lucky, Gambit should move back into active development with a new filmmaker.

One of Fox's best hopes may be The New Mutants, a spinoff featuring superpowered teens with some overlap with the flagship X-Men. According to sources, director Josh Boone (The Fault in Our Stars) could even begin rolling cameras by spring.

Brent Lang wrote:Fox controls the film rights to “The X-Men” and “The Fantastic Four.” Could you partner with them on a movie as you did with Sony?It’s an impossibility at this juncture. We certainly have enough films to keep us busy for a number of lifetimes.

MATT GOLDBERG wrote:However, as we’ve seen with in other superhero movies, setting up crossovers can be tricky. It’s usually distracting and difficult to fit into the narrative. Yesterday, Steve Weintraub spoke with Deadpool 2 writers Rhett Reese and Paul Wernick about the challenges of setting up X-Force, and they replied that while Deadpool 2 will set up that film, they’re not losing sight of the Merc with the Mouth:

RHETT REESE: There is a responsibility we have to the X-Force universe, and I do think we will not disappoint the fans going into Deadpool 2 and then setting up X-Force and beyondPAUL WERNICK: We never want to let the tail wag the dog. We want to tell the best Deadpool story we can. But I do think we have a responsibility to think about a larger universe in the way that Marvel does and start to put pieces in place. Some of these movies feel overstuffed and almost choking with the need to set up eighteen different things that pay off down the road, and we want to avoid that responsibility to the extent that it hurts us. We want to hint at things, we want to plan some characters, and we want to make some nods, but we’re very, very cognizant about making sure that Deadpool is above all a Deadpool movie.REESE: Its purpose is not to set up X-Force. It will likely set up X-Force, but the drive of the movie won’t be our eyes on Movie 3.

GARY COLLINSON wrote:With pre-production on X-Men: Dark Phoenix in full swing, it should only be a matter of time before we get some official casting news on the latest instalment in 20th Century Fox’s main X-Men series.

However, in the meantime, Jeff Sneider has popped up with a casting rumour on Meet the Movie Press, claiming that Fox is keen on Angelina Jolie for an unspecified role in the film, although he cautions that Jolie may opt instead to join Universal’s Dark Universe for long-rumoured title role in Bride of Frankenstein. He then went on to suggest on Twitter that Jessica Chastain may also be in contention for the same role should Jolie pass on the opportunity.

Meanwhile, it has also been reported that South Korean singer and actor Rain (Speed Racer) had been cast in the film, but has been forced to drop out of the project due to scheduling conflicts. Apparently his current project Uhm Bok-dong is shooting through to August, whereas Dark Phoenix is set to begin principal photography in July.

X-Men: Dark Phoenix is set for release on November 2nd, 2018, with frequent X-Men writer and producer Simon Kinberg reportedly set to direct. As yet, the only confirmed cast member is Sophie Turner, who reprises the role of Jean Grey, although both James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are expected to be back as Professor X and Magneto.

Ben Pearson wrote:Speaking with Yahoo(via The Playlist) alongside the cast of Kingsman: The Golden Circle, Tatum acknowledged how the Tim Miller’s rule-breaking Deadpool and James Mangold’s violent, hard-R western riff Logan gave his Gambit film opportunities that it might not have had otherwise:

“We got really lucky. We had a first draft it was good, but we were coming to at a time at that creative phase of [the X-Men], where these movies went through a bit of a paradigm shift, where the X-Men movies and the superhero movies with Logan and Deadpool really broke down a lot of doors for us. We were trying to do some things that we actually weren’t allowed to do, and they just smashed down the doors, and now we’re giving it a bit of a rethink.”

But does that new outlook on the film mean that Tatum and his team are suddenly thinking that the Gambit movie will now be its own R-rated entry that’s full of violence and swearing like those films that came before it? Not necessarily:

“I don’t know yet. We’re not quite going there because I enjoyed Gambit as a kid, so I don’t want to rule out PG-13. Some of the stuff we want to do is a little bit R, but we’re not sure if it merits a full R yet.”

This is one of those movies where I'll believe it when I see it. As it is, and despite what they say, I don't expect to see a solo Gambit movie, ever. But we'll see. Maybe. Or maybe they'll just keep talking about it forever.